Only in its first week of sales up to this point, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD has already sold a total of 120,000 downloads. Apparently, its day-to-day sales have also managed to stay consistent since last Wednesday. It's worth...

Some classic games aren’t made around a great idea, but rather, great execution. The idea of a points-based arcade skateboard game wasn’t exactly radical in 1999, with games like 720° and Skate or Die! predating Tony Hawk's Pro Skater by a over a decade. It was recognized because developer Neversoft’s execution was near flawless. One sequel later and perfection was achieved. No other series made players feel like skateboarding supermen quite like Tony Hawk.

Though later series entries have their fans -- I have a soft spot for Tony Hawk's Underground 2 -- the first two games established the franchise’s formula, offered some of its most memorable levels, and left the biggest impact on the game industry. It’s no surprise then that Tony Hawk Pro Skater HD focuses exclusively on these first two Hawks -- though THPS 3’s revert and levels will arrive as DLC. Rather than repackaging these two classics, developer Robomodo has attempted to replace them by making a new game from the ground up, combining the best maps, songs, and features of both titles.

It’s abundantly clear that Tony Hawk Pro Skater HD isn’t made by the masterminds at Neversoft, but by the team that made the abysmal and broken Ride and Shred. Strong execution isn’t exactly their forte.

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 were the bomb. Hard to believe the former only came out in 1999. Unfortunately, the series quickly spiraled away from being the bomb and, in more recent years, toward being a laughing stock that Activision has been so sure people are going to eventually buy en masse after realizing the error of their ways.

Fortunately for us, Activision seems to have realized that this strategy is not working (also not working: making bad games and expecting them to sell well, especially against Skate). Accordingly, we’re getting Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD in about a week's time as a $15 downloadable amalgam of the first two games in the franchise.

I'm pretty pumped for the upcoming release of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD. Today, Activision has given me even more to look forward to by confirming that the first round of downloadable content for the game will include stages ...

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater recalls a very specific time in my life, a period of freedom and uncertainty as I was just entering the world. I was in my first apartment in a crappy part of town, working a full-time job, a part-...